Sammy Lai runs Taida Orchids in Pine Bush. The one-acre site grows 150,000 orchids annually and the company plans to double production.

More orchid growers blossoming in county

By Jessica DiNapoli

Times Herald-Record

February 10, 2013 - 2:00 AM

An Orange County orchid boom is under way, spurred by the region's proximity to major flower markets in Manhattan and Boston and plentiful, affordable, agriculturally zoned land.

United Orchids, one of the largest operations here, grows 1 million of the exotic flowers each year in 3.5 acres of greenhouses in the Town of Wallkill.

United sells its flowers to wholesalers who supply big-box stores and supermarkets — an extremely competitive market most of the other, smaller Orange County growers haven't touched.

In late January, United's approximately 50 employees were preparing for the busy season, a succession of flower-centric holidays starting with Valentine's Day and extending through school graduation season.

Complicated to grow

Profit margins are razor-thin in the orchid-growing business, said commercial orchid buyer Peter Lai, who has also considered starting his own orchid farm. Growers have to make enough money selling the potted plants to cover sky-high utility costs.

The delicate flowers require purified water, a steamy climate of between 70 and 80 degrees, and 12 hours of light a day, said Sammy Lai, who runs Taida Orchids, a one-acre greenhouse in Pine Bush. Lai is currently weighing an investment in a new lighting system.

Taida, which also operates a small greenhouse in New Jersey, grows about 150,000 orchids annually and plans to double production within five years.

United Orchids takes more of a mass-production approach, selling flowers for $7 to $20, depending on the size of the blooms, said business manager Han Chang.

The greenhouse's economies of scale make it profitable to grow less-expensive flowers, now all the rage for everyday big-box shoppers, according to Erik Runkle, a Michigan State University horticulture professor and orchid expert.

"I think they still have an exotic appeal," Runkle said. "They're not considered a traditional potted flowering plant. They're in high-end hotels and restaurants."

The orchid's soaring popularity has made it the most valuable plant in the country, a spot previously held by the poinsettia, Runkle said.

Far more poinsettias than orchids are sold each year, but the exotic blooms cost more, he said.

"Potted orchid production is the most rapidly expanding part of horticulture," Runkle said.

Hobbyists get obsessive

Most of the orchids grown in Orange County's sprawling greenhouses require little maintenance and will stay in bloom for at least three months, said Elisabeth Mansfield, president of the Mid-Hudson Orchid Society. The group has 50 to 60 members.

"They're easy for window-sill growers," she said.

Outside of the offerings at larger stores, there's a subculture of obsessive orchid fanatics breeding and growing the flowers. They approach the blooms less as elegant decorations and more as a scientific hobby. Mansfield said some avid hobbyists will work to emulate the natural environment a specific orchid grows in — windy, cloudy or, if they're found along streams, wet.

Black Meadow Flora in Chester, an operation smaller in scale than the northern Orange County greenhouses, also sells rare orchids.

Taiwanese roots

Rural stretches of land in Pine Bush and Wallkill are home to at least four orchid greenhouses, and may have the potential to become the region's Little Taiwan. Chang and Lai are both Taiwanese natives.

Don Kim, president of the Elgreen Orchid Farm in the Town of Wallkill, is Korean, but has a close business relationship with Sogo, a large Taiwanese exporter of the flowers.

The Asian island state is one of the world's largest orchid breeders and producers, Runkle said.

Both United Orchids and Taida Orchids serve as the New York branches of family-owned Taiwanese companies.

Workers at the Taiwanese parent companies develop new orchid varieties — petals a truer shade of red, or with a deeper purple pattern — and send young versions of the plant to the United States via ocean liner.

The United States generally does not permit potted plants from abroad to enter the country, Runkle said, but made an exception for certain Taiwanese orchids. The change, instituted in 2004, helped open the floodgates for U.S. orchid-growing.

Kim said it can take up to 18 months for an orchid to be mature enough for shipment to the United States. Then, it takes another four to five months to flower.

Completing the entire process at the U.S. greenhouses would take up too much valuable space and time, hurting growers' profits, he said.

Growers in Taiwan can grow the plants until they can be shipped at a much cheaper price.

Why Middletown?

Despite the cold winters, the greater Middletown area is well-suited for farming orchids, growers say. The moderate fall and spring are perfect for growing the flowers, Kim said.

Mansfield, who is also a commercial real estate broker, noted that Orange County's highway network helps commercial growers quickly deliver flowers to cities like Boston and New York. Land in Orange County — especially property zoned for agricultural use — is also far cheaper than anything closer to New York City.

Orchids have long been considered a luxury product, but fans say their longevity makes them a relative bargain. A shopper could buy an arrangement of flowers for $60, but it will die in a week. An orchid bought for the same price will have a bloom for as long as four to six months, Mansfield said.